John Pomeroy Townsend (1832–1898) was an American financier of the Gilded Age. He proudly claimed descent from "old Puritan stock", tracing his ancestry to a Thomas Townsend who settled at Lynn, Massachusetts in 1637.[1]
John P. Townsend | |
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 A sketch of John P. Townsend, 1894 | |
| Born | John Pomeroy Townsend 1832 Middlebury, Vermont, U.S. |
| Died | 10 September 1898 (aged 66) Tarrytown, New York, U.S. |
| Occupation | banker |
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| Spouse | Elizabeth A. Baldwin (1853) |
| Children | 3 |
Business career edit
Townsend was born in Middlebury, Vermont.[2] He began his business career in New York City in 1850. He became Second Vice-President of the Bowery Savings Bank from 1875 to 1883, First Vice-President from 1883 to 1894, and President from 1894 to his death in 1898; he was also President of the Maritime Exchange from 1883 to 1888, Treasurer of the New York Produce Exchange in 1887, a member of the Chamber of Commerce, and from 1889 President of the Knickerbocker Trust Company.[3] Other positions included president of the Municipal Gas-Light Company of Rochester; director of the Long Island Railroad Company; and secretary and manager of the Hospital for the Ruptured and Crippled.[4]
Writings edit
Townsend was also a writer on economic matters, his publications including the chapters on U.S. Savings Banks in volume 2 of A History of Banking in all the Leading Nations (1896), as well as writings on the Free Silver controversy.
Death edit
On 10 September 1898, Townsend died suddenly of a heart attack shortly after dinner at his summer house in Tarrytown, New York.[5]
References edit
- ^ Prominent Families of New York (1897), p. 570.
- ^ "Middlebury, Vermont". City-Data.com. Retrieved June 25, 2014.
Birthplace of: ... John P. Townsend - Banker
- ^ "Bowery Bank's New Head; John P. Townsend Now President of the Institution", New York Times, March 13, 1894. Accessed 24 May 2010.
- ^ John J. Dearborn, Names and short notices of gentlemen who have practiced their profession in the town Archived 2010-07-03 at the Wayback Machine, from The History of Merrimack and Belknap Counties, New Hampshire, edited by D. Hamilton Hurd (1885).
- ^ "Death of John P. Townsend", New York Times, 13 September 1898. Accessed 24 May 2010.